Bachelors of Education – University of Saskatchewan
Early Childhood Montessori Diploma – AMS (MACTE)
Lower and Upper Elementary Training – Michigan Montessori Teacher Education Centre (MACTE)
Cynthia had no knowledge of Montessori when she took her first position at Lakeview Montessori School in Windsor, ON, as the Physical Education and Music instructor. Once involved in the program, she became curious as to what all the “calm” in the classroom was about and enrolled in a MACTE accredited Early Childhood Montessori Diploma Program, which provided Cynthia with an understanding of the Montessori Philosophy and Methodology. Once trained in Early Childhood, Cynthia accepted a position in Rome, Georgia, USA., where she was the director in a CASA class for six years. Cynthia was then offered an opportunity to take the MACTE accredited Lower Elementary course in Rochester Hills, Michigan at the Michigan Montessori Teacher Education Centre. She spent another four years teaching in a Lower Elementary Montessori class in Georgia.
Returning home to Canada, Cynthia was invited to help implement a Lower Elementary class with the Saskatoon Public School Division. After working for four years in the Lower Elementary program in the public system, she wanted to know where the students went academically, in the Upper Elementary program. Cynthia then enrolled in the Upper Elementary training program back in Michigan and today, she is currently finishing off her Upper Elementary course. Because of the child-centered method, and the hands-on approach, Cynthia has felt compelled to pursue this method of educating the child. Today it remains a passion of hers.
Raising a son as a single parent, Cynthia enjoyed attending all his sporting events, and now that he has completed high school, she finds herself watching the NBA, specifically the Raptors! Cynthia lives close to the river in Saskatoon and spends her downtime walking the trails. Cynthia has done the Metis Floral Beadwork and has brought it to the students in her school. Since she moved back to Saskatoon twelve years ago, Cynthia has been involved in Treaty Education through the school division and has been inspired to create Indigenous connections for her students.
Currently, Cynthia is a literacy leader for her school, and spends time connecting with her colleagues to see what the needs are of their students in language, and then creating materials that will support the child and where he is academically. While she is happy that Montessori has entered the public realm here in Saskatoon, it is one of her passions to help create a program that is authentic, connecting both the Montessori curriculum to the provincial curriculum, and also maintaining the three-hour work cycle and the three-year cycles. With such a focus on Indigenous Peoples in Canada, Cynthia’s vision for the future is to make connections with the northern communities of Canada, and to share with them attributes of Montessori which include individualized instruction, a hands-on approach, land-based learning, and the beautiful element of storytelling.